During the preparation of unit-dose samples of radionuclides from a multi-dose vial of a PET drug, it is necessary to repeatedly place samples into a dose assay chamber for dose calibration and then subsequently remove the samples from the chamber. This process must be performed quickly and precisely while simultaneously protecting personnel and maintaining a high-quality air environment to prevent microbial contamination of the samples.
Existing technology requires either a manual placement of the samples or use of a pneumatic remote lifting device for the samples. The manual operation requires the operator to lower the samples into the assay chamber and subsequently lift the samples out of the chamber. This process necessitates unnecessary movements that makes the operation slow and introduces an increased risk of dropping the samples during placement. The existing pneumatic remote lifting devices, while an improvement over the manual method, use compressed air to provide a cushion of air underneath a platform carrying the radionuclide sample to lift or lower the platform. The platform is directly supported by the cushion of compressed air flowing upwards against the platform and, therefore, a quantity of air is always flowing upward and past the edges of the platform mechanism. Because the radionuclide samples sitting on the topside of the platform is exposed to the compressed air flowing around it, this compromises the quality of the immediate surroundings. This introduces increased risk of microbial contamination during sample handling.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved system for handling radionuclide samples that lowers the radionuclide samples into an assay chamber and then lift them out of the assay chamber that accomplishes this remotely and without compromising the quality of the radionuclide samples' immediate surroundings.